Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-30

covery in Ter tent, and then, when he
slept, she took hammer and nail and
drove the latter into the temple of the
sleeper, "for he was fast asleep and
weary" says the account, iand so he
died" Such was the method of commit,
ting murder resorted to by the first
woman who introduces assassination on
the part of her own sex.
Brinvilliers, the alleged assassin Lu-
creZia Bo. gia, TOfans, the inventor of the
poison to which she gave her name, La
Spsra and other ladies, have illustrated
in their cases the fact that women as MUIR
derers are always original and inventive,
and utterly unlike brutal men. Tofana
alone, not very much more than GEN.
tury ago, managed to send out of exist
ence not less than 600 people,
and used, as did the other ladies of the
time, poison as the instrument of death.
Since that period poison has remained
the fsvorite wespon of gentle woman. 1t
is but few years since a lady in Pitts
burg was convicted of poisoning to death
q score or so of people, for which she was
most ungallantly hanged without any re-
gard for her sex. Boston furnishes a
lady-beautiful, cultured and accom-
plished, of course, like all the Bostonese
who commenced her efforts by poison
ing her husband, and then continued as
siduously on until she had disposed Of
her numerous children in turn, and also
of some near relatives Immediately out
side her domestic circle. She had no
aqua tefana, but she managed to get
along by using arsenic as q substitute,
which she fed to her victims with unspar-
ing liberality.
Starting in with an act Of treachery
and hammer and nail, woman has finally
settled down on poison as the regular and
accepted weapon of death. This is q
portion of the evolution of her ex-
tremely sensitive nature; the sight
Of blood and gaping wounds distresses
her, and her natural delicacy of
organization leads her to select less
repellant forms of killing. To a
certain extent the use OF poison permits
the operations of her affections, the
free play of her loving nature. Brinvil-
liers and other noted prisoners of their
day usually practiced on their husbands,
fathers, lovers and children, whereby
they were afforded opportunity to watch
the dying moments of their victims and
to sOOthe them with such caresses and
words Of comfort, love, aud the like, as
would naturally occur to the sex on the
solemn and narrowing occasion. 1t is
here where women show themselves not
only unlike men, but that they are i'm
measurably their superiors in sympathy
and feeling. What man, after having
stabbed, shot or otherwise started per-
son on the road to death, would sit down
by him and SOOthe his last hours
or moments with words of consolation
and sympathy? Particulars are not at
hand, but events will show that Mrs. Rob
insOn, the Massachusetts poisOner, was
tender in the extreme to every one of her
eleven victims; that she lowered about
their bedsides like ministering angel as
she was, and that each of them sailed off
into the unknown firm in the conviction
that but for her he would have died
much sooner and far more un scceptable
death.
When men drive home the fatal knife
they fly in horror from the accursed SPOT.
The woman remains about, and tenderIy
assists the lettering steps down to the
river. Such is the difference between the
two.